Brazil: Forró – Music for Maids and Taxi Drivers is a various artists genre compilation album that was dedicated to Forró, a music style from Brazil. Released in 1989, the album was nominated for the Best Traditional Folk Album in the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards two years later.
According to US producer Gerald Seligman, the original tracks were produced by Zé da Flauta, who came to prominence in the group Quinteto Violado, founded in Recife in 1970 and most active throughout that decade. Zé sold the forró master tapes and all rights to Rio de Janeiro-based Carlão de Andrade of Visom Records, who pressed them intending for the sales to help fund the start-up of his label of instrumental music. There they languished until Seligman spied them in a Visom closet in 1987. He took them back to NY, recognized their value as a rare example of roots forró music and approached both GlobeStyle Records in the UK and Rounder in the US to gauge interest in a compilation. Both signed on. Seligman also commissioned acclaimed woodblock artist Marcelo Soares to create the cover in the style of Literatura de Cordel, which are popular rhyming broadsides distributed throughout the Brazilian Northeast.
Track listing # Artist Track title Length1Toinho de AlagoasBalanço da Canoa (Rock The Boat)2:132Duda da PassiraDe Pernambuco ao Maranhão (From Pernambuco To Maranhão)2:133José OrlandoEu Também Quero Beijar (I Want To Kiss, Too)2:554Toinho de AlagoasBicho da Cara Preta (Black-Faced Ghoul - A Folkloric Figure)1:535Heleno dos Oito BaixosComeço De Verâo (Start Of Summer)2:536Toinho de AlagoasPeça Licença Pra Falar de Alagoas (Ask If You Can Speak Of Alagoas)1:497Duda da PassiraRecordação Da Passira (Remembering Passira)2:368José OrlandoAgricultor Pra Frente (Modern Agriculture)1:579Heleno dos Oito BaixosEntra e Sai (In And Out)2:0910José OrlandoLinda Menina (Pretty Girl)3:0011Duda da PassiraCasa de Tauba (Wooden House)1:4412José OrlandoMorena da Palmeira (The Brunette Of Palmeira)2:3913Toinho de AlagoasCaráter Duro (Hard Character)1:3114José OrlandoMinha Zezé (My Zezé)2:0715Toinho de AlagoasSonho de Amor (Dream Of Love)1:4416Toinho de AlagoasNamoro no Escuro (Dating In The Dark)1:5217Duda da PassiraForró de Minha Terra (Forró Of My Land)1:45
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result Ref. 199133rd Annual Grammy AwardsBest Traditional Folk Album
References